This is an expression that means to apply sudden and hard pressure on the brakes causing the wheels to stop right away. If someone was to stop right in front of you would slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the car.

“The bus driver had to slam on the brakes when the boy crossed the street without looking.”

An ESL automobile vocabulary expression that is the act of putting your foot on the gas pedal while the automobile is still in park or in neutral. The engine will make a loud sound and it is called “revving” the engine.

If your car “breaks down” it means that it stops working. The engine no longer pushes the car forward. There are many reasons why a car could break down, but the point is the car will not function properly.

“I hope we don’t break down on the way to the mall. This car is old and I don’t trust it.”

An ESL vocabulary expression where driver 1 is driving in his lane and driver 2 pulls in front of him. This causes driver 1 to have to slam on the brakes, swerve out of his lane or crash into driver 2. Driver 1 may experience “road rage” because of this!

This is a term that describes when a person becomes excessively angry when he feels he has been mistreated by another driver. This can happen when one driver tailgates, cuts off or nearly crashes with another driver. As the population and traffic grow in many cities there are more and more cases of road rage. Many times these incidents end in a shooting.

“There was an episode of road rage that occurred downtown last night. A man jumped out of his car and struck another driver after he was cut off.”

If you are stopped by a police officer you are said to be “pulled over”. The police officer will turn on his lights and his siren to indicate that he wants you to stop and go to the side of the road. He will then get out of his car and tell you what you did wrong. Usually you will get a ticket for speeding or running a red light.

This is a street that is in front of a public school. During the times that students are coming or going from school the speed limit is usually 25 mph. Police tend to watch this area carefully and pull over any cars that speed. The fines for speeding in this area are usually a lot more money.

“Be careful in driving in a school zone. There are kids crossing the street.

This is the area immediately to the right of the right hand lane on a highway. People do not drive in this lane. It is used for cars that have broken down or for police officers to park if they pull over a car.

When a police officer pulls you over he may give you a fine for breaking a traffic rule. He will hand you a piece of paper that says what law you broke and how much you need to pay. This is called “getting a ticket”.

This is a section of the road where police officers will monitor for speeding cars. One police officer will hide his car on the side of the road to check how fast cars are going. Another officer will be down the road ready to pull over the speeder.

“I didn’t know there was a speed trap on that road so I got pulled over.”